


Dream Team Tour

by Idontlovejessica



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Alive Noah Czerny, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Lol it never happened, M/M, Multi, Past Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish, Ronan Noah and Hennessy are a band
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:22:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28893585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idontlovejessica/pseuds/Idontlovejessica
Summary: Ronan's band accidentally plays the song he wrote right after his break-up with Adam Parrish in front of Adam Parrish.
Relationships: Adam Parrish/Original Character(s), Ronan Lynch & Adam Parrish, Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	1. Oops, Wrong Bar

“C’mon Adam, it’s a concert. You’ll like it!”

“Alice, I’m deaf in one ear, I can barely listen to lectures.” Adam had replied to his girlfriend over the phone, which was cradled between his shoulder and his remaining, working, ear. 

“It’s like indie folk, it won’t be that loud. Trust me. Please?” Alice had the little pout in her voice that made Adam melt all over again every time and he knew he was screwed. 

“Fine, but I get to leave if you start miming things to me.”

“I wouldn’t have to if we took those ASL classes like I told you to.”

She had a point, but Adam had resisted the idea. He had too much to do as it was without trying to add another class to his course load. Senior year at Harvard if you were doubling in pre-law and classics did not leave a lot of space for extracurriculars. Which Adam should have known when he and Alice had started seeing each other two years before hand, but he had ignored his worries then. 

“What time is it at?” He finally said when he came back to the conversation at hand. 

“Nine, I’ll pick you up.”

***

The venue was a kitschy sort of bar in downtown Boston where all of the lighting came from old Christmas lights and fake Chinese paper lanterns. Adam was vaguely charmed. Part of him noticed the extreme care with which the lights were hung, and how clean everything was. This wasn’t a dive bar, it was just playing one for the rich Harvard students who flocked in every semester. He shook his head and tried to enjoy himself, so he ordered a seltzer from the bar and found a spot on the floor in front of the stage next to Alice. Alice was a short girl with her brown hair tied in a neat ponytail. Adam liked her, maybe he even loved her, she was nice, quiet, determined, willing to push him further and take him out of his comfort zone a little bit. But safe, definitely safe and calm. Which is exactly what Adam had been looking for after his last relationship. They got to talking as the opening band got on stage.

Adam didn’t pay attention until the singer tapped on the mic and said in a crisp British accent, “Uh, hello. Hi. We’re The Dream Team. I’m called Hennessy, these two behind me don’t count, and this one’s called Harvard.”

That got a laugh from the audience. Adam watched as the woman on stage, a stunning Black woman with giant hair and floral tattoos across her neck, adjusted her guitar. Behind her someone was messing with a drum kit, and another man was tuning up a bass guitar. Then Hennessy started singing in a soft voice over a driving guitar part.

_“How’s your new Ivy League girlfriend?  
Is she boring too in the way I couldn’t stand?  
I’m not sorry, I just hope you  
Trust her more than me.” _

Then the drums kicked in and Adam looked over. And Adam looked over. He felt his face go pale. He recognized the man playing the drums.

It was Ronan Lynch.

He looked good. He looked almost exactly like he had the last time Adam had seen him a little over two years ago. Black jeans tight around his legs, a loose tank top letting little glimpses of his defined chest and arm muscles through, shaved black hair, and the hooks and wings of his back tattoo creeping out around his neck. The only difference was he had added an earring, a silver cross in one ear. Adam was stunned, he had never thought he would see Ronan again. Their final goodbye had been explosive and messy and if Adam had had any intentions of ever returning to Henrietta, they had dissolved that night in the snow. 

_“You never wanted to date a college girl,  
Well I hope you got something out of that deal.  
Or made your parents proud.  
I bet she’s not as loud.” _

Hennessy’s voice on the second verse brought Adam back to the present and he shook his head a little. Her voice raised up almost to a shout on the last line and Ronan’s face erupted into a grin as he drove into a booming drum interlude. Around Adam, the crowd was loving it. Alice was loving it, he could tell from her bobbing movement next to him, but Adam could only watch Ronan. Then all of a sudden Ronan stopped playing and it was just Hennesy’s voice and the bass. There was a coquettish little smile on her face and she slowly unzipped her puffy white jacket as she sang,

_“Does it feel better?  
To be in an Ivy League sweater?  
Put your work shoes on  
And talk about her at your shitty job.”_

Under the jacket was a maroon Harvard sweatshirt artfully cut into a crop top. Adam listened to her voice sing the last line and he felt himself go cold again. He suddenly knew with complete certainty that Hennessy hadn’t written these lyrics. The drums behind Hennessy started a gaining beat and she kept going,

_“Does it feel better?  
In that cold Boston weather?  
Fuck your Ivy League sweater  
You know I was better.”_

All three musicians were going full out now, Hennessy sing-screaming into the mic, Ronan banging away in controlled chaos, and the bassist grinning like a madman with a gap tooth. 

_“Fuck your Ivy League sweater!”_ The song ended and the crowd erupted into cheers. Hennessy turned around and on the back of her disgraced Harvard sweater a rough hand had written “SUCKS!!” in bright white paint. Ronan had written the word, Adam knew that immediately, just as he knew Ronan had also written the lyrics to the song. The jabs were too specific. He knew Adam, and he knew exactly what would hurt Adam, even though Adam was pretty sure he was never supposed to hear this song. Looking over at Alice, Adam jerked his head to the patio door and mouthed “Too loud!”. 

Outside the cold Boston weather bit Adam's face just like the lyrics had bitten his soul and he shoved his hands deep in his coat pockets and tried to forget what he had just seen. Behind him the door opened and without thinking he turned to look at the noise. Ronan Lynch was walking out of the bar with a bottle of beer in his hand.

“I didn’t think this was your scene, Parrish.” He said in his deep rough voice. Nonchalant. As if it hadn’t been two years since they had seen each other. As if he hadn’t just played a song all about Adam. Adam rounded on him,

“What the fuck was that?”

“A show? Music? I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of it before.” 

“Fuck you, Ronan. That song. That was about me, wasn’t it? You wrote that.”

“Jesus. Self-centered much? Guess Harvard turns everyone into a prick.” Ronan took a drink from his beer and stared at Adam straight on.

“Seriously? You show up here after two years and play that and I’m not supposed to think it’s about me?”

Ronan shrugged, “Hennessy went through a rough thing with another Harvard douchebag, they’re a dime a dozen. Apparently.” 

“Whatever.” Adam turned to head back into the bar.

“I wrote it two years ago, Adam.”

Adam stopped.

“I wrote it right after you dumped me. Hennessy liked it. Noah liked it. The crowds liked it. How the fuck was I supposed to know you were going to be at this exact bar this exact night. You hate crowds and music.”

Adam had his hand on the door handle and he didn’t turn around to say, “I’m here with my girlfriend.”

“No shit, Sherlock. I saw you in the crowd.”

“I don’t have anything to say to you.”

“Oh yeah? A second ago you were fucking yelling at me. Look, I was being a dick when I wrote it okay? I was mad. I didn’t think you’d hear it.”

“The parents line was a real masterpiece.”

“Yeah, thought that’d fuck you up. Two year ago. When I wrote it after my high school boyfriend dumped me. I’ve moved on. Have you?”

Adam couldn’t answer that. He pulled open the door to the bar and pushed his way through to Alice, “I want to go home. Yeah, right now, please Alice.”


	2. Reactions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Boys figure out how they feel about seeing each other again for the first time in years.

From outside, Ronan finished his beer and watched them leave out the front. He sighed. 

“Eh, fuckface,” Hennessy shouted from the doorway, “Get inside- we’re back on.”

Ronan downed the rest of his beer and threw the bottle somewhere behind him. The rest of the set went by quickly, though Ronan was distracted the whole time. He got drunk.   
They were on tour with another band and they killed with the Harvard indie crowd.  
Ronan got drunker.   
When they got back to the hotel he flopped on his queen bed and Noah perched on the edge next to him.

“So, how ya’ doing?”

“Fuck off ghost boy.” Ronan slurred. 

“I’ve literally been tanning every week, you know this.” Noah shot back. “You’re paler than I am at this point. What happened back there? You went totally flat after the first song.”

“Nothing.”

“So you just started sucking?”

“I didn’t suck.” 

“You were like, mediocre, at best.” Noah said, just before Hennessy shouted, “You totally sucked!”

Noah continued, “Look, you seemed weird after the first song I just wanted to see if you were okay. I know we haven’t been to Boston since…” 

“He was there, Noah. Can you just shut up?” Ronan interrupted. Noah gasped quietly. 

“Wait, like, Adam? Adam was there? When we played…?”

“When we played the song I wrote about how I hoped he fucking died and could suck shit in hell like a stuck up bastard? Yeah. He was there with his fucking girlfriend. I talked to him outside now leave me alone.” Ronan turned over onto his stomach and shoved his head against the hotel pillow. Noah tried to keep talking but Ronan just ignored him till both he and Hennessy got ready for bed and turned off the lights. 

The next day Ronan helped load up the van despite his throbbing headache. They had a gig across town on the other side of the Harvard bubble, some other Boston suburb bar that had live music. While Ronan’s interest in their career had dwindled, he was suddenly on edge for the reappearance of his ex. Adam didn’t show up so his set was fine. Ronan started to relax, there was a few weeks between him and the next time they were in Boston for tour.

They killed across New England. Fans threw themselves against the harsh cliffs of Hennessy and Ronan, but found safe passage in Noah. Noah spent as many nights in their shared hotel rooms as he did out of it, and Ronan had no hate against him for it. Sure, people wanted to sleep with him but it was pretty clear after meeting him that Ronan was not one for a one-night-stand.

He had made room in his bed for someone once, years ago, and since they had left, it had been waiting unoccupied. 

____________________________________________________________________________

“Adam, what’s wrong?” Alice asked for probably the hundredth time.

“I’m fine,” Adam answered for the hundredth-and-first time.

“Sure. So I’ve never met you before, and I’ve never seen you spiraling before,” Alice retorted.

“I’m… Look, the weekend fucked me up okay. I hadn’t been to a concert since… It was a lot.”

“Bullshit. We’ve been to shows louder than that, I’ve played youtube videos louder than that. That band fucked you up, what was it?”

Adam tensed, questioning of any kind caused him to prickle, much less about something so personal. His mind raced: _how could he deflect this-He had to assign it to something that wasn’t as dangerous as an ex-If Alice realized it was about his ex she would dump him-If she found out it was about his ex-boyfriend she would tell everyone he was bi-But everyone knew he was bi already-But some people didn’t, maybe his professors didn’t and they would disregard his scholarships-She would tell his parents._ His brain snapped out of its loop for a brief second, Alice wouldn’t talk to his parents--she had made that clear over their relationship. He took a chance.

“I… That first song the opener played about the guy at the ivy league? I don’t know it just… messed me up? About who I am and how I used to be…” 

Alice’s gaze shifted, trying to remember the lyrics to that song, and then focused back on Adam. “The breakup song? Adam, that had nothing to do with you. Maybe it was bitter or whatever but it wasn’t about you. You don’t have to think about yourself like that anymore.” 

“No, I do. Because-” Adam took a huge breath in. “-Because it was about me. My ex wrote that song. My ex was the drummer.” 

“Oh.”

This is it.- Adam thought, _She’ll find out I’m still messed up over Ronan and leave me-Who would blame her-I should be totally over him-It shouldn’t have fucked me up like it did-Am I still in love with him?---_ His spiral was cut off by Alice’s arms suddenly around him.

“Hey,” She said, “I know what it’s like. I’ve got weird ex’s in my past too. You haven’t seen it yet, but I get it.” 

Adam didn’t move for a second, he didn’t trust that her arms were supposed to be consoling, but eventually he relaxed into her embrace. He rested his head on top of hers and felt safe, almost like he was comforting her, and that comforted him. 

“Thanks.” Adam gasped out.

“Yeah, of course. Love you.” Alice replied.

Adam tensed. She had never said that before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally expected this to be purely a Pynch fic, but as I was writing I realized I cared about Alice and Adlice more than I thought??? Who knows where this will go.

**Author's Note:**

> I drunkenly uploaded this without crediting the band whose song inspired it all and so I deleted and am re-doing it now!! The song used in this fic is "Harvard" by Diet Cig and they are incredible.


End file.
